Rep. Frederica Wilson founded “5000 Role Models,” a dropout prevention and mentoring program. This photo was taken during a press conference about the missing Chibok girls in 2015.(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

Rep. Wilson created a program called “5000 Role Models,” a dropout prevention and mentoring program that operates within the public school system. The forum, which focused on public policy around mentoring, was moderated by Michael Smith of the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative (MBKI).

“One of the biggest responses to the call to action on this issue has been from Capitol Hill,” Smith said at Wilson’s event. ”We need to make sure that young people know that they matter.”

Wilson said that she’s experienced firsthand the powerful influence that a caring adult can have on a young person’s life.

“This inaugural [My Brother’s Keeper Caucus] forum is one of many events to come,” said Wilson.

Before she came to Capitol Hill, Wilson worked as a teacher and served on the school board in Miami, Fla. She told the audience in a packed room on Capitol Hill about the work of “5000 Role Models” and what motivated her to create the organization.

One of the many participants on a long panel of experts was NBA legend and former Detroit Piston Bob Lanier.

“The NBA was one of the first organizations to step up to President Obama’s call of action,” Lanier told the full room during his remarks. The NBA has a mentoring program called NBA Cares.

David Shapiro, the CEO of MENTOR, a non-profit group dedicated to closing the mentoring gap, said, “We need to make mentoring a part of the fabric of American life.”

Also present at the forum were Michael A. DeVaul of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, N.C., Arnaldo A. Gonzalez, the chief of growth and development of Miami-Dade Public Schools, Noelle Hurd, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia, and Tom “Satch” Sanders, a former Boston Celtics player.